Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jets Rumors

Trade Candidate: Andrew Copp

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The trade deadline is now just over a week away as we continue our look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and March 21st.

Andrew Copp has fairly quietly but steadily improved over the past several seasons and has worked his way up from being an energy player on the fourth line to a reliable checker to a quality two-way center that plays big minutes in all facets of the game.  As a result, if Winnipeg decides that they’re going to sell, Copp will be one of the most sought-after players around the league in the days to come.

Contract

Copp is on a one-year, $3.64MM contract that was agreed on prior to his arbitration hearing in August and thus contains no form of trade protection.  The deal is all salary and he will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

2021-22

Copp has been somewhat of a Swiss army knife for Winnipeg this season.  Injuries to Blake Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers opened up spots on the wing that Copp filled at times.  He has spent most of the year playing down the middle but even with a fully healthy lineup (including Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois at center), Copp has logged heavy minutes and is third among all Winnipeg forwards in ice time behind only Kyle Connor and Scheifele.

Unsurprisingly, the 27-year-old has seen plenty of action on special teams.  He leads all Jets forwards in shorthanded ice time per game and plays almost the same amount of time on the power play, making him their only player to average at least 2:30 per contest in both situations.

The end result is that Copp is on pace to set career highs across the board (he’s already there in shots on goals).  On top of that, he’s winning over 53% of his draws and we know how much teams value situational faceoff performance in the playoffs.

However, it’s worth noting that his production has tapered off a little bit as of late with five points in his last 16 games while half of his full-season point total came in the first 15 games of the year.  That shouldn’t hurt his market too much but interested teams will be factoring that into their offers.

Season Stats

53 GP, 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points, even rating, 8 PIMS, 147 shots, 20:05 TOI, 52.9 CF%, 53.8% faceoffs

Potential Suitors

Basically, any contending team with some cap space will have interest in Copp if he’s made available.  Winnipeg could retain to facilitate a deal although they’re close to being capped out so there may be a limitation to how much they can hold back or who they can take on to offset part of the contract.

In the East, the Bruins never really filled the hole created by David Krejci’s departure and have been looking to fill a top-six hole all season.  Copp fits the bill on both ends and they have the cap space to afford him outright.  So do the Rangers who could either slot him in on the wing in the top six or have him anchor a new-look third line that can take some pressure off the top lines.  The Maple Leafs have been linked to some wingers and Copp would be a good complementary piece on the wing on their second line although making the money work would be a challenge with Jake Muzzin set to return later this season.  The Capitals have been looking around at checking wingers and while Copp is rated a little higher, he’s someone they’d have interest in although again, the cap looms large on that front.  The Panthers may covet Copp’s faceoff prowess to help offset Sam Bennett’s struggles on the draw if they aren’t able to add a significant piece on the back end.

Out West, the Wild stand out as a strong fit.  They’re stuck shopping for expiring contracts with the buyout charges increasing next season for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter and could certainly use some improvements down the middle.  The Avalanche have good depth at center already but could use Copp on the wing or in a shutdown capacity.  It’d also be an opportunity to evaluate if he could be a serviceable replacement for Nazem Kadri if Kadri prices himself out of what Colorado can afford over the offseason.  The Flames would have some cap challenges to overcome and would need to use him on the wing but he certainly fits Calgary’s playing style.  If the Predators opt to try to make a bigger addition, Copp is someone that would fit in a role that’s similar to one he plays with Winnipeg, splitting time at center and the wing.

Likelihood Of A Trade

A lot will depend on how Winnipeg fares in this next week.  If they can close the gap on a Wild Card spot, they may hold onto Copp in the hopes of sneaking into the postseason.  However, if that doesn’t happen and a contract extension isn’t in the cards, there’s a very good chance that Copp will be on a different roster once the clock passes 2 PM CT on March 21st.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jets Potentially Interested In Wild's Jack McBain?

at CDT | by 7 Comments

  • As has been previously covered, the Minnesota Wild are considering shopping the signing rights they hold over prospect Jack McBain, who is currently starring for Boston College in the NCAA. In another bit of information from his 32 Thoughts blog, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Wild’s asking price for McBain is a second-round pick. In 2019, the New York Rangers traded two second-rounders to the Carolina Hurricanes for the rights to defenseman Adam Fox, so a price of a second-rounder is not one without some precedent, although an inquiring team could make the argument that McBain isn’t the same quality of prospect that Fox was at the time. Beyond reporting a potential asking price, Friedman also floats the Winnipeg Jets as a potential candidate to acquire McBain, specifically noting that Andrew McBain, Jack’s father, played six seasons for the Jets from 1983-84 to 1988-89.

Latest On Andrew Copp

at CDT | by 3 Comments

One name that probably isn’t talked about enough when it comes to trade deadline candidates is Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Copp who, like many other players that are discussed around this time of year, is a pending unrestricted free agent. The expectation was that the Jets would be contending for the Stanley Cup and likely taking a run at extending the 27-year-old forward, but with the team now sixth in the Central Division and looking up at three teams between them and a wild card position, they’ll have to consider selling at this month’s deadline.

Copp, meanwhile, is having another strong season with 13 goals and 32 points in 51 games. He’s been used all over the lineup, including at center again for a substantial stretch of the year. That versatility–which doesn’t end at his positional alignment; Copp can also contribute both on the powerplay and penalty kill–would make him a good fit for nearly any contender looking to bolster their top-nine. The fact that his cap hit is just $3.64MM makes him an even more attractive trade target, given how little of that will actually be left by the deadline.

In today’s 32 Thoughts column by Elliotte Friedman for Sportsnet, he touches on Copp’s future. Friedman writes that the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche are “believed to be among” the interested teams, though those two have been linked to almost every forward available over the last few weeks.

If the team does end up trading Copp, it will be very interesting to see if what kind of return they target. The team has several players locked up long-term, with Pierre-Luc Dubois the only real key restricted free agent on the books. Adding a package of draft picks for Copp likely doesn’t help them next season if they still believe themselves to be a contending team, unless of course they turn and flip those assets at some point down the road.

Through eight years in the NHL, Copp has only ever played for the Jets. This year he is averaging way more ice time than he ever has before, actually still sitting above 20 minutes for the year. That’s not the role he’ll be playing on any new team, though, and with that in mind, the 51-point full-season pace he’s on may not be realistic. He hasn’t even come close to that total in the past, though some of that is due to shortened seasons and injuries. What a team would be trading for is a quality two-way player that can support those around him, not necessarily one that can carry the offensive load himself. That was never more noticeable than last year’s playoffs, where Copp was held without a goal in eight games, despite seeing almost 22 minutes a night. In fact, through 34 career postseason matches, Copp has scored just three times.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

AHL Shuffle: 03/09/22

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Just two games in the NHL this evening, though that does include a matchup between Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin. The Edmonton Oilers and Washington Capitals will do battle in a game of two teams headed in opposite directions. The Oilers have lost three in a row and are running the risk of falling out of the Pacific Division playoff race, while the Capitals stormed back yesterday to take their third in a row. As they and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent down defenseman Corey Schueneman to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Schueneman, 26, is an undrafted player who impressed in brief NHL action under coach Martin St. Louis and is now headed back to Laval where he has 10 points in 27 games.

Metropolitan Division

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent Kasper Bjorkqvist back to the AHL, without him actually getting into a game during this recall. The 24-year-old forward has played in six games this season, all of them coming back in January, and has a single goal.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled goaltender Alex Lyon from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Lyon was sent down on Monday and returns to the Hurricanes roster sporting a .908 save percentage in his 2 NHL appearances this season.

Central Division

  • Nathan Beaulieu has been moved to long-term injured reserve, with the Winnipeg Jets recalling Ville Heinola in his place. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s getting into the lineup though, as Heinola figures to be the seventh defenseman on the upcoming road trip (at least to start).

Pacific Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have moved Mikey Anderson to injured reserve, recalling Jordan Spence to take his place on the roster. Spence, 21, has been lighting up the minor leagues in his first year of professional hockey, scoring 42 points in 46 games for the Ontario Reign. The fourth-round pick has a very interesting background, including being born in Australia and learning to play hockey in Japan before eventually returning to Canada at 13, the country he competes for internationally.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent Brendan Guhle to the AHL, as Josh Manson continues to get closer to returning and after the team claimed Andrej Sustr off waivers. Guhle, 24, hasn’t even played in an NHL game this season, despite being up with the team on several occasions.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have activated Zack Kassian off of long-term injured reserve and then added Kyle Turris to the list in a corresponding move, according to Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Kassian has 14 points in 35 games this year and returns to an Oilers lineup that he has featured in for seven seasons. Turris, 32, was previously mentioned as a trade candidate and has only 4 points in 23 games for the Oilers this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Winnipeg Jets Activate Nikolaj Ehlers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets have announced that star winger Nikolaj Ehlers has been activated off of long-term injured reserve. Ehlers, 26, has been out since a January contest versus the Washington Capitals where he had a knee-on-knee collision with Dmitry Orlov. That collision caused a knee injury that has kept him out of a significant portion of games for the Jets.

Before the injury, Ehlers was producing decently well for a Jets team in need of his scoring touch. He had 13 goals and 25 points in his 34 games played. But the Jets have disappointed this season, and since his absence they have continued to languish on the fringes of the Western Conference’s playoff race.

On a positive note, though, Ehlers seems to have avoided any significant damage with his knee injury. In a sports world where season-ending knee injuries are all too common, seeing Ehlers return to the Jets this quickly (especially after watching Ehlers need to be helped off the ice by a trainer in the immediate aftermath of his collision) should be uplifting for a Jets fanbase that has not been given a whole lot to celebrate in recent weeks. Additionally, Ehlers did get to spend time in his native Denmark during his recovery, as reported by Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun, and perhaps the fresh start brought on by Ehlers’ return can help spark the Jets’ playoff chances.

In an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff affirmed his faith in his team’s ability to re-enter the playoff conversation, saying that he is “comfortable” with this year’s team and willing to trust them in their chase of the playoff spot most observers expected them to more convincingly earn this season. Cheveldayoff’s interview underscored his patient approach to such high-pressure situations like a trade deadline and a playoff race, meaning that Ehlers’ return will be unlikely to have a significant impact on the way the Jets approach the deadline season. Instead, Jets fans will have to settle on his return having a significant impact on the ice, because regardless of what management does moving forward it is clear this Jets team just got a major, immediate boost.

Austin Poganski Placed On Waivers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

March 4: Poganski has cleared waivers, according to Chris Johnston of TSN, and can now be assigned back to the minor leagues.

March 3: The Winnipeg Jets have placed Austin Poganski on waivers, according to CapFriendly. This is the second time he has appeared on waivers, after clearing just before the season began. Because of the number of games he has played in since then, he now has to clear again before being assigned to the minor leagues.

The placement of Poganski on waivers is another positive move for the Jets, who had Nikolaj Ehlers back at practice today in a regular jersey. The 26-year-old Ehlers hasn’t played since January 18, but appears to be on the precipice of a return to the lineup. The team will need to make some cap-related changes in order to be able to activate him from long-term injured reserve, likely including moving Poganski off the roster.

There’s a chance the 26-year-old is claimed, but not a big one. The former St. Louis Blues forward has played in 16 games this season and 22 for his career, yet is still looking for his first NHL point. They haven’t been as hard to come by at the minor league level, where he has 21 in 31 games this season, but things have been much more desolate in the NHL. Of course, he wasn’t really given much offensive opportunity in Winnipeg, averaging just over nine minutes a night mostly in defensive-zone situations.

Though normally he would be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, Poganski is actually one of those who will qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agent status, given how few games he has played to this point.

Cole Perfetti Moved To Injured Reserve

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets announced three injury-related transactions today, including activating both Nathan Beaulieu and the recently claimed Adam Brooks from injured reserve. To make room on the roster, Cole Perfetti has been moved to IR after suffering an upper-body injury last week against the Seattle Kraken.

Getting Beaulieu back explains the demotion of Ville Heinola yesterday and suggests that the veteran defenseman will finally get to continue his season. Beaulieu hasn’t played since January 27 and has just 19 games on the year, between absences from injury and illness. In the second season of a two-year, $2.5MM deal signed in 2020, when he does return to the action he’ll be jumping aboard a Jets team that is still scuffling along, unable to string together any sort of winning streak.

Winnipeg lost on Saturday night to the Edmonton Oilers, snapping a short two-game winning streak from last week. They’ll now take on the Calgary Flames today–a game that won’t include Beaulieu just yet–and try to snap the red-hot Pacific Division leader’s nine-game winning streak. Brooks is making his Jets debut on a line beside Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois after being shipped all over the league this season through waivers.

That spot had belonged to Perfetti, who has quickly shown that he is already a full-time NHL option. The 20-year-old forward has seven points in 18 games this season after being the tenth-overall pick in 2020. It’s not clear yet how long Perfetti will be out, but he has to miss at least seven days from his last appearance–February 17.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Assign Ville Heinola To Manitoba

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After getting a long look at the NHL level over the past few weeks, the Winnipeg Jets have opted to send defenseman Ville Heinola back down to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

Heinola’s played in eight NHL games this season, an auspicious number considering the 10-game ’entry-level slide’ rule that can apply to young prospects on entry-level deals. This isn’t a contractual move, though, as the Jets have already slid the beginning of Heinola’s entry-level deal twice, meaning the clause no longer applies.

After being drafted 20th overall in 2019, Heinola immediately signed his entry-level deal with the team. He’d played in 13 NHL games prior to this season, notching a goal and four assists.

This season, he’d notched two points in another eight games, but averaged under 14 minutes a game and saw limited usage. At this point in time, the team’s decided they trust Logan Stanley more in an NHL role, opting to send Heinola back to the Moose. There, he has 16 points in 25 games this year, continuing to develop his all-around game.

Winnipeg Jets Claim Adam Brooks

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Brooks-go-round continues. Adam Brooks has now been claimed by the Winnipeg Jets off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs, following Cole Perfetti’s injury last night. The Jets, who are ahead of the Maple Leafs in the waiver order, would have had to pass on him just a day prior when the forward was claimed from the Golden Knights. This is the fourth time Brooks has been claimed this season and he still cannot be assigned to the minor leagues.

The path so far for Brooks has been Toronto to Montreal to Vegas to Toronto to Winnipeg, all while playing in just 11 games at the NHL level. A conditioning stint sent him to Henderson to play for the Silver Knights as well, meaning it’s five different clubs in what must be a frustrating year. At least now he is returning to his hometown in Winnipeg, where there could be some playing time finally awaiting.

Perfetti may be out longer than day-to-day according to Jets head coach Dave Lowry, who spoke with reporters including Murat Ates of The Athletic today. Andrew Copp is also out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Nikolaj Ehlers was among several others already on the sideline. It means that Brooks, who has experience at both center and on the wing, could immediately be needed in the Winnipeg lineup when they take on the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old forward himself has been on injured reserve since January 20 so it is unclear if he’ll be ready to step directly into the action.

In terms of what the Maple Leafs were trying to do, this isn’t actually the worst outcome. The team will now have a chance to grab Brooks back at some point later in the season if the Jets decide to waive him. Had the Golden Knights claimed him (and been the only club to do so), he could have gone directly to the minor leagues and likely been out of their grasp completely.

Brooks is on the second season of a two-year deal that carries a cap hit of just $725K.

Logan Stanley Activated; Neal Pionk Unavailable

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Winnipeg Jets have activated Logan Stanley from injured reserve and will insert him back into the lineup for the first time since January 20. The big defenseman is coming at the perfect time since Neal Pionk is unavailable. Pionk tested positive for coronavirus ten days ago with the team on the road and though he has played in the last two games, can’t travel back with the Jets to Canada until tomorrow.

Stanley, 23, is one of the most physically imposing players in the league, standing 6’7″ and weighing in at 228 lbs. Though it took the 2016 first-round pick some time to grow into his potential, he’s become a regular with the Jets this season, averaging just over 15 minutes a night through 35 games. With the team struggling to keep pace in the Central Division, another step forward in Stanley’s progression would certainly be welcomed.

In fact, the deployment of the Jets’ defense down the stretch will be an interesting thing to watch, especially if they fall completely out of the playoff race. The veteran group of Pionk, Josh Morrissey, Nate Schmidt, Brenden Dillon, and Dylan DeMelo are all signed through at least the 2023-24 season at cap hits of at least $3MM, but the team has young defensemen like Stanley and Ville Heinola pushing for more playing time. If the management group decides to start looking forward to the future, perhaps someone from that veteran group will start appearing in trade talks with contending teams.

For now though, Stanley jumps back into a group that is desperately trying to find a way to put wins on the board. The Jets took Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators and now have a winnable match against the Chicago Blackhawks. A team that was considered a Stanley Cup contender before the season began, Winnipeg sits sixth in the Central with a 20-17-8 record.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top